Sandwiches

The humble sandwich. Almost any foodstuff can be put into a sandwich. I have a few favourites - chicken, brie & cranberry sauce; ham and coleslaw; egg mayonaisse; pink salmon; and the good old staple bread and cheese. There is a huge variety of cheese available - I love a brie and cranberry sauce toastie, rustic bread dipped into baked camembert, boursin spread liberally onto a piece of crusty French stick, and the good old default, cheese and pickle, for me, it's Red Leicester with mango chutney, mmm delicious.

Some time ago I watched a programme called "Take A Hike" in which  contestants were leading various country walks, providing interesting commentry along the way and lunch. One of the lunches was jam sandwiches, which left the recipients visibly underwhelmed.

When I was a little girl bread and jam was a popular sandwich. I can remember my mum serving supper, just a slice of cake or a toasted teacake or jam sandwiches. It was an affordable food and formed a major part of the diet of the poor working classes. 

The reason why the contestants in the show were not pleased was because the bread was dry and the filling was sparse. 

For a really satisfying jam sandwich you have to have good white bread, real butter and lots of jam. I think strawberry is the most popular but I like cherry (above), apricot and raspberry. Sometimes I put peanut butter with raspberry.

The sandwich as we know it was popularised in England in 1762 by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Legend has it, and most food historians agree, that Montagu had a gambling problem that led to him spending hours on end at the card table. During a particularly long session he asked the house cook to bring him something that he could eat without getting up from his seat. The cook put some meat between two slices of bread and, voila the sandwich was born. Montagu enjoyed his meat and bread so much that he ate it constantly, and as the concoction grew popular in London society circles it also took on the Earl’s name. 

Women, War, and Bread and Jam.

In 1917 The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was created, and young women were allowed to join the army. A lovely book called 'Women and War Work' gives details of a typical week’s meals, “to show how well they are fed". Their daily meals were breakfast, dinner, tea and supper. Supper was always bread and jam.

With austerity looming maybe more of us will be turning to jam sandwiches to subsidise our meals!

Do you have a favourite sandwich?

∼ Be safe and well∼

Polly x